Breakups might be frustrating, but damn do I love an angsty, breathtaking reunion. And I especially love it when some time has passed (10 years in this case), yet in that moment it feels like none at all. The tug between Percy and Sam is so visceral—so strong that just the mere sight of them standing in the same frames flickers with a magic that makes second chance romances so achingly profound.
The way she says his name. The way he immediately recognizes her voice. The halt, followed by the slow turn back and the words, “you came home,” are all brimming with so many emotions that there’s substantial depth in that split second alone. Ten years with no contact, but he’d know her voice anywhere. Ten years with no contact, yet none of it matters at that moment because she’s home.
The Every Year After Season 1 finale might have an ambiguous ending about their status as a couple, but this moment makes it abundantly clear that they’re endgame, whether you’ve read the books or not. Taken word-for-word, it’s the kind of scene that not only proves how gorgeously cast both Sadie Soverall and Matt Cornett are, but it cements the detail that the love between Percy and Sam is endless. It’s all-encompassing. No matter where they go or who they meet, or how they hurt each other—their love stays. It lingers in the lake, in every nook and cranny at the Tavern. The embers are all there, waiting for them to come home, and for the ever-present spark to ignite everything back up again.
In more ways than one, there’s plenty that the adaptation gets right, and the buildup to this reunion is one of those things. It’s so organic that it’s a little ridiculous. (Affectionately) Because really, anyone who’s ever gone back to the place where they’ve left their person behind knows how agonizing seeing them again can be, down to the moment where you literally spot them somewhere and run away. It’s why the moment where Percy finally plucks up the courage to talk to him hits like a ton of bricks because we know how hard it is. We know how daunting it is for her to put herself in front of him again and face every memory that’s haunted her since.
And here’s the thing: there are moments in the show where people act like what Percy and Charlie did is equivalent to committing murder. They were young—dumb. She and Sam had broken up. There was heartbreak and pain, and it led to a messy situation with two people whose frontal lobes weren’t fully developed. It’s also a mistake that’s never been repeated, nor will it be. So I hate the fact that Percy beats herself up for it so much, but at the same time, I get it. To her, hurting Sam is unforgivable. That’s how deep her love for him runs. It’s also how deep Charlie’s love for his brother runs. It’s why this reunion hits so hard because Soverall makes it clear that hurting Sam has haunted Percy for years. She makes it clear that seeing his face again is both the easiest thing and the hardest.
Sam might not know the reason she left in the show, but he knows he loves her. He knows she’s his person, and in the midst of his grief—in the midst of his rage that Charlie invited her without telling him—he’s still relieved she’s here, and we can see it clear as day in Cornett’s performance. There’s also so much to appreciate about the fact that their reunion happens in the Tavern—in the place where small moments led them to fall in love. In a place where Sue’s presence is there, too.
The maturity of their conversation in this moment and the art of two people comforting each other through their pain is so lovely and wholesome, there are few words for it. The fact that she immediately breaks, and he holds it together? It’s so remarkably human how their hug comes to play, proving that when they’re together, everything’s a little easier. For a split second, everything’s okay. And when she chooses to then help with dishes? It’s a gorgeously full circle moment that takes us back to their early years, nudging us to believe that everything will be okay.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Prime